Petals of a Rose
by xxSkitten
Summary: The story of ThunderClan many, many seasons into the future. This story tells of Rosefur, a dark-cream she-cat, who faces good and bad times with her brother, Toadear. DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

**Petals of a Rose**

Chapter 1

Rosefur set her paws down lightly, careful not to alert the sparrow, oblivious to the cat stalking it. She took a couple of careful pawsteps until she was about a mouse-length from the bird. Then, she pounced on top of the bird and gave it a sharp bite to the neck before it could alarm the other prey. Satisfied with her catch, she picked it up in her mouth and headed east, where her other prey was buried.

Rosefur shivered—her short. dark-cream pelt was not accustomed to the frigid leaf-bare winds just yet, but she figured she would get used to it soon. She had seen countless leaf-bares since she became a warrior, which was long ago. Of course, she wouldn't be joining the elders for a long time, but she wasn't exactly one of the youngest warriors, either.

She uncovered her hidden prey, dusting off the dirt with her paws, and crammed them into her jaws. Satisfaction welled up inside of her. Her clanmates would not go hungry this leaf-bare.

As she entered the ThunderClan camp and deposited her catch on the fresh-kill, she spotted her brother, Toadear, racing towards her, exitement blazing like a fire in his green eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead collapsed to the ground, panting.

Rosefur purred with amused affection. _Three pawsteps ahead of himself, as usual._ She poked her brother's black-and-white-patched body with her paw. "Ready to tell me now?" She asked, whiskers twitching with amusement.

As Toadear caught his breath, he shot up from the ground. "My kits! My kits are going to be apprenticed today! At moonhigh!" He yowled at the top of his voice. A few cats stopped and stared at him, whiskers quivering and tail-tips twitching. Toadear flattened his ears, embarrased.

Rosefur cuffed his brother's ear. "Mouse-brain!" She hissed good-naturedly. "I'm sure all of StarClan could have heard that!"

"I know, I know. I just couldn't help myself!" Toadear fired back. He sighed blissfully. "I couldn't ask for more, you know? Beautiful kits, a beautiful mate…" He trailed off, love glowing in his eyes.

Happiness for her brother swelled inside of Rosefur like a bird taking flight. She covered his brother's head with licks. "I can't wait for the ceremony!" She purred. Suddenly she had an urge to see Blossomflower, not only Toadear's mate but also a good friend of Rosefur's, and her kits.

"I'm going to see them before the ceremony." She told her brother, touching her muzzle to his ear. She added playfully, "And try not to yowl like that again. The other clans will think we've been attacked by foxes!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She ducked her head under the roof of the nursery, padding lightly incase any kits were asleep. She saw Blossomflower grooming her only she-kit, Moonkit, who was protesting, "Mo-om! I can groom my own fur!"

Blossomflower purred. "Just let me groom you!" She growled good-naturedly. "If I let you do it you'll look like a fox that's been in a fit for a moon!" She looked up at Rosefur, ears pricking in delight. "Oh, hello Rosefur! Good to see you!"

Rosefur purred. "You too!" She looked at each of her friend's kits in turn; Moonkit- black she-kit with white paws, ears, tail-tip, and underbelly with dark blue eyes, Applekit- red-orange tom with amber eyes to match, Patchkit- black-and-white tom with green eyes, a tiny copy of his father, Toadear, and Shortkit- dark brown tom with gray eyes.

"How are the kits?" Rosefur asked.

"_We're_ doing just fine!" Moonkit mewed before her mother could say anything. "We're going to be apprentices soon!"

"Moonkit!" Blossomkit scolded. "Be respectful of other warriors!"

"Or _anyone _bigger than you, for that matter!" Applekit growled, trying to act like a wise clan elder.

"Good!" Moonkit squeaked. "That means I don't have to respect _you!_"

"But you _do_ have to respect me!" Shortkit interjected, standing up on his hind legs. "I'm way bigger than you!"

"Oh yeah? Wanna make a bet, _Short_kit?" Moonkit teased.

"Say that again!" The brown kit squealed indignantly.

"You're no bigger than a mouse!"

"That does it!" Shortkit shrieked. He pounced on his sister, biting her tail.

"Eep!" Moonkit squealed and shoved her brother off with her fluffy white forepaws. But before Shortkit could pounce again, Blossomflower placed her two forepaws on the bickering kits.

"That's enough!" Their mother mewed sternly, then added playfully, "I'm big enough to squash you both flatter than a leaf!"

"_Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge!" _Rosefur heard a yowl from the Highledge. Hollystar was going to name the new apprentices!

"Good luck, kits!" She called to her friend's four kits as she left the nursery. She could hear Moonkit's protest; "We're not kits anymore!", along with Blossomflower's scolding mew. Rosefur's ears twitched in amusement. She almost pitied Moonkit's new mentor. She could imagine Moonkit charging off in all directions, scaring off all the prey…

She sat beside Toadear, who was quivering with pride for his kits. It wasn't long before Blossomflower joined Toadear, her kits just behind her. The two cats nuzzled, twining their tails together.

"I'm going to be an apprentice." She heard Moonkit mew proudly to Bumblepelt, Blossomflower's brother.

"Yes, I heard." Bumblepelt's mew was amused.

Then she saw Hollystar's black pelt jumping up to the Highledge. Her clanmates fell silent as she mewed. "It is time for one of my favorite duties." Her bright green eyes shone with warmth. "Moonkit, Applekit, Patchkit, and Shortkit have reached their sixth moon."

She hesitated for a moment, letting the news sink in. "Applekit."

Applekit padded up to his leader, his amber eyes containing hardly supressed exitement.

'From this day, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Applepaw."

Applepaw squeaked with exitement, jumping up and down beneath the Highledge.

"Poppyfrost."

The tortoishell cat's tail went straight up.

"You were mentor to Briarclaw, and he is a credit to his clan. Now I ask you to take the responsibility of mentoring Applepaw. Teach him all that you know."

The senior warrior bowed her head. "I will do my best." Applekit stretched his muzzle to touch noses with his new mentor.

Hollystar spoke again. "Patchkit."

Patchkit scampered up to the Highledge.

'From this day, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Patchpaw."

Patchpaw blinked, ready for the next step.

"Bumblepelt."

The tom's ears pricked.

"You will be mentor to Patchpaw. Teach him of all of your loyalty and courage.

Bumblepelt bowed humbly without saying a word, then touched noses with his new apprentice.

Hollystar went on. "Moonkit."

She let out a squeal of delight as she ran over to the Highledge.

'From this day, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Moonpaw."

Moonpaw's eyes glowed. "Moonpaw!" She echoed.

Rosefur was unprepared for what happened next. "Rosefur."

Rosefur could hardly believe her ears. _I'm going to be a mentor!_

"Rosefur, no cat could be as loyal as you are to ThunderClan. I ask you to teach that loyalty to Moonpaw."

She just stood there, mouth open. The other cats started to purr, amused.

"Badger got your tounge, Rosefur?" Hollystar mewed, tail twitching with amusement.

"I…I…Thank you!"

Hollypaw just smiled. She turned to Moonpaw. "Go on."

Moonpaw raced over to Rosefur. She raised her muzzle to touch noses with her, but not before Moonpaw could hold back a sneeze. "Achoo!"

The purrs of amusement from the other cats grew louder, until even Hollystar was purring, whiskers quivering.

Rosefur cuffed Moonpaw playfully over the ear. "Cheeky furball!" She mewed affectionately. The touched muzzles properly

Rosefur's head was so full of mentoring thoughts that she completely missed Shortkit's apprenticeship.

Soon after the meeting broke up, Moonpaw asked her about a million questions. "What are we doing today? Are we going to catch a mouse? Can we patrol the border? Can I climb the sky oak?"

Rosefur snorted with amusement. "If you keep asking questions, all the prey will die of old age!" She contined. "I'm going to teach you how to hunt mouse." She beckoned with her tail for Moonpaw to follow her into the forest. Her head buzzed with happiness. This was the beginning of a wonderful mentorship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, all! Thank you for your reviews on Chapter One. I really appreciate it. =) And, yes, I know Briarkit/claw is a girl. :P I didn't find that out until it was too late. So I'll be sure to mention Briarkit/claw's girl-ness in this chapter. Thankies! :3**

Chapter 2

"Yes, yes, you've almost got it. Keep your tail down, it's sticking up like a bluebell!"

Rosefur watched Moonpaw as she crept up on a mouse. She nearly had it right, but Moonpaw couldn't keep her tail from twitching. It twitched again, rustling the leaf litter and alerting the mouse. The mouse scampered under a nearby tree.

"Mouse-dung!" Moonpaw growled. "That's the third mouse!"

Rosefur thought for a moment. They could explore the territory instead. She would teach Moonpaw how to hunt mouse tomorrow, when she wasn't as jumpy as a rabbit.

"Moonpaw." Rosefur began. "We can do this tomorrow. How about we explore the territory, so I can te—"

"Really? Okay!" Moonpaw interrupted her, then dashed off into the bushes.

"Moonpaw!" She yowled, trying to catch up with her. "Wait up!"

Rosefur didn't have to run much longer. Moonpaw swerved to avoid a bramble bush—only to crash into a large tree a few mouse-lengths ahead of it!

A mixture of amusement and worry swelled up inside of Rosefur. What if she broke her paw on her first day as an apprentice? She raced over to Moonpaw, who was lying dazed, but not hurt, at the foot of the tree.

"Whoa, whoa…" Moonpaw stared at Rosefur with a confused look on her face. "Wha..? Mother? What are you doing here?"

Rosefur held back a snort of laughter. "_Mother?_ I think not. Try again, you careless lump of fur!"

Moonpaw hesitated. "Oh, Rosefur!" She sprang up from the foot of the tree, tail lashing. "Weren't we going to explore the territory?"

Rosefur didn't hold back a snort this time. "You almost didn't make it 'till then! You could have broken a paw!" As Moonpaw's tail drooped, ashamed and dejected, Rosefur sighed. "I know you're exited, but be _careful_, for StarClan's sake!"

Moonpaw brightened. "I will! Now, where are we going to next?"

Rosefur held back a sigh. She hoped Moonpaw would learn to keep control of her seemingly endless energy. Still, she couldn't help admiring it at the same time. She would be a great warrior someday. She beckoned with her tail for Moonpaw to follow, and this time, Moonpaw kept pace with her mentor.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She led Moonpaw to the RiverClan border first. Almost immediately Moonpaw piped up. "Something smells funny."

Rosefur's whiskers twitched. "Yes, Moonpaw. What you smell is the RiverClan scent marker. Do you know what that means?" She inquired.

Moonpaw looked thoughtful. "We're at the end of ThunderClan territory?

Rosefur nodded. "Exactly. That means what?"

"We can't go past this scent marker?"

Rosefur purred. "You know so much already!" She praised.

Moonpaw lifted her chin, basking in her mentor's praise.

"Well, the RiverClan border stretches from here to that tree," Rosefur paused to point out the tree to Moonpaw with her tail, "Over there."

Moonpaw nodded vigorously. "Can we go to the next place? Canwecanwecanwe?" She hopped up and down, bursting with excitement.

Rosefur smiled and flicked Moonpaw's ear with her tail. "Keep you're fur on, we're going!"

She led her apprentice to the WindClan border next. Before Rosefur could speak, Moonpaw wrinkled her nose and mewed, "Is this the WindClan border? It smells all rabbity!"

Rosefur snorted affectionately. "You're already a pawstep ahead of your mentor, Moonpaw!"

Moonpaw's whiskers quivered. "I remember my mother telling me about how WindClan only ate rabbits, so I assumed…" Moonpaw stopped abruptly, nose twitching. "What's that smell?"

Rosefur smelled the air. It was a WindClan patrol! Before she could alert Moonpaw, three WindClan warriors stepped out from behind a large holly bush.

A black-pelted warrior thrust himself towards the startled pair. "What are you doing so close to the WindClan border?" He demanded.

Rosefur held back an annoyed snort. "Keep your fur on, Breezetail." She replied as calmly as she could muster. "I'm only showing my apprentice the WindClan border."

Breezetail didn't reply, his amber eyes scanning the two ThunderClan warriors. He was obviously trying to find fault with Rosefur and her apprentice. Then, he just snorted. "Right, then. Move along." He mewed grumpily to his patrol. Moonpaw watched wide-eyed as the WindClan warriors turned around and went on their way.

"Honestly!" Rosefur grunted, annoyed with the WindClan warriors. "You'd think the sky was falling, the way those WindClan grumps treat us!"

Moonpaw just yawned. "I'm tired."

Rosefur looked at the sky. It was nearly moonhigh. "I know. We'll head back soon, I promise, but I want to show you the ShadowClan border."

As she lead Moonpaw to the final destination, she thought to herself, _Am I doing a good job mentoring her? I really hope so. She shows so much promise._

"Yuck!" Rosefur was snapped out of her thoughts by Moonpaw's disgusted hiss. "Is _that_ the ShadowClan border? It smells like crowfood!"

Rosefur nodded, faintly amused. She imagined she said the same thing when she was an apprentice. "ShadowClan eat unusual things for prey, like frogs and lizards. That's why their scent marker smells strange."

Moonpaw's eyes widened. "_Strange?_ Vile is more like it!"

"That's enough of that. If a ShadowClan patrol had heard that, they'd claw your ears off!

Moonpaw responded with a huge yawn.

Rosefur blinked sympathetically. "Come on. You can take a long nap once we get back to camp."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rosefur took a vole from the fresh-kill pile. She settled down beside Toadear and Bumblepelt to share tongues.

"So," She mewed to Bumblepelt. "How's Patchpaw coming along?"

"He's doing great!" He replied happily. "He's very modest." He took a bite from his sparrow.

Rosefur snorted. "Moonpaw's nowhere near modest! She crashed straight into a tree when I told her I was showing her the borders!"

Toadear chewed on his mouse admiringly. "She was always a pawstep ahead of herself."

She nodded. "She kept quiet, though," Rosefur gulped down a mouthful of vole. "When a WindClan patrol saw us near their border."

Bumblepelt stopped in mid-chew. "Did they harm you?"

Rosefur snickered. "I told them to go chase someone else's tail." She took another bite of her vole.

As she looked up from her meal, she saw Applepaw padding up to Toadear, tail-tip twitching restlessly.

"Father," He began. "Can I talk you for a moment?" Applepaw shuffled his paws, as if something were troubling him.

Toadear's eyes widened. "Of course!" He exchanged a worried glance with Rosefur and Bumblepelt before Applepaw lead him away from the warriors' den.

Rosefur strained her ears to hear what the pair was talking about. Bumblepelt's ears were pricked, so she guessed he was, too. He heard Applepaw's voice, low and urgent, mixed with Toadear's, soft yet stern. Her curiosity heightened. _What's so important?_

After about a minute passed, Toadear entered the warriors' den. His eyes were wide as moons and his tail was sticking straight up. He finally spoke up.

"He…he wants to be a medicine cat apprentice."

**Bwahaha, the old-fashioned cliffhanger! :P I wonder what will happen in Chapter 3..?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hehehe, did you like my cliffhanger? Well, without further delay, let Chapter 3 begin!**

Chapter 3

_Medicine cat apprentice!_

The words buzzed in Rosefur's mind. One of the most important roles in the clans, being taken by her brother's son!

Applepaw followed his father into the warrior's den. He looked at the ground shyly and pawed at the dirt. "W-Well? What do you think?"

Bumblepelt rose from his meal. "I think it is absolutely wonderful that you are ready to take on such responsibility." His tone was matter-of-factly.

Applepaw looked at him with worried amber eyes. "That's just it! Am I ready for such a big responsibility?" His gaze dropped to the ground again.

Toadear licked his son's ears lovingly. "I could tell the minute you were born that you could take on anyone, or anything if you needed to." His voice was quavering, as if he could barely contain his pride.

Applepaw looked up at his father, his eyes shining with amazement and worry. "You really mean it?"

Rosefur purred. "Of course he means it, furball! Or should I say, medicine cat apprentice!"

Applepaw closed his eyes, his body vibrating with a confident purr. "Thanks, you guys! I'll go and tell Jayfeather now!" Without another word, he snapped his eyes open and raced out of the warrior's den.

Toadear turned to Rosefur and Bumblepelt. "I should go with him."

Bumblepelt nodded. "We all should. He needs our support."

"He'll need much support," Rosefur added. "If he's going to be Jayfeather's apprentice. He can be quite the grumpy furball."

Toadear was scraping the ground impatiently. "Well then, lets go!" He darted out of the warriors' den.

Bumblepelt and Rosefur exchanged an amused glance and padded to the medicine cat den.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Great StarClan! If I would have known I would have the entire warrior's den in here, I would have moved to the nursery!"

Bumblepelt flicked his tail. "Come now, Jayfeather. We're only here to support Applepaw." He paused to lick his paw. "He's a nervous wreck!"

Rosefur poked Bumblepelt with her paw. "I would be too, if I were to be apprenticed to the grumpiest cat in all of ThunderClan!" She joked.

"No," Toadear added playfully. "In the whole forest!"

"That's enough!" Jayfeather growled, though his unseeing eyes had a hint of amusement in them. "All of you, out, out, out! I can't get out of the den to tell Hollystar with all you fat furballs blocking the entrance!"

As the three cats filed out of the den, Rosefur saw Jayfeather and Applepaw emerging from the medicine cat den. She watched them until they disappeared into the leader's den.

Curiosity filled all of Rosefur's senses. "I'm going to go listen." She mewed to the two tomcats sitting beside her. Without waiting for an answer, she padded to the Highledge.

She pressed her ear to the side of the Highledge, careful to go to the unseen side of the Highledge so no other cat would catch her.

"…To take on this responsibility?" She heard her leader's dignified mew first.

"Absolutely." Applepaw's shy mew was heard next. "I…I have thought long and hard about this, and I think I'm ready."

Rosefur imagined Hollystar nodding. "Very well. You are now officially Jayfeather's new apprentice. Jayfeather, try to go easy on Applepaw, okay?" Rosefur heard amusement in her leader's mew.

"I'll try my best." Jayfeather grumbled good-heartedly. "I'll put him in his place if he behaves like a daft furball, though."

Hollystar snorted, amused. " I trust that you will. One more thing, though, Applepaw." She heard Hollystar shifting in her nest, trying to get more comfortable. "Did you know I used to be the medicine cat's apprentice once?"

She heard Applepaw gasp. "Really?"

"Really," Hollystar went on. "I thought it would be great to be respected the way medicine cats are respected." She sighed. "Sadly, though, I wasn't born for a head of herbs."

Hollystar's voice perked up a bit. "But, then again, if I were still a medicine cat today, grumpy old Jayfeather would be leader! You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

"Hey!" Jayfeather pretended to spit crossly.

Applepaw purred, amused by her leader's story. "Are you kidding? He'd grump us all out of the forest!"

Jayfeather growled, cuffing Applepaw's ear. "One more word like that and I'll have you eat every single scrap of nettle in my den!"

Applepaw squealed fearfully. "Sorry!"

Jayfeather snorted. "I can imagine." She imagined him dipping his head to Hollystar. "Thank you."

Rosefur heard pawsteps sounding out of the leader's den. "Come on," She heard Jayfeather talking to Applepaw. "I'll teach you how to _really_ use yarrow."

Rosefur turned around to leave. But, before she could take a pawstep, she heard Hollystar growl, loud enough for Rosefur to hear, "Rosefur, get in here _now_, you eavesdropping furball!"

Rosefur's stomach dropped. _She heard me listening!_ She padded into her leader's den, tail dragging on the ground, ears burning with shame. When she met her leader's green gaze, narrowed sternly, Rosefur hung her head. "Sorry, Hollystar."

Hollystar blinked. "Don't look like that, Rosefur, I won't eat you." There was no amusement in her voice. "But you ought to be ashamed. A leader has her own den for a reason!" She growled. "I'm very disappointed in you, Rosefur."

The burning in her ears grew, and her heart ached with shame. Rosefur whimpered dejectedly. "I only wanted to hear how it went. But I shouldn't have gone about it in this way."

Hollystar sighed. "Don't worry, you aren't being punished." She flicked her tail. "But, if you eavesdrop like that again, you will be."

Rosefur nodded, glad that her leader wasn't as angry as she thought she would be.

Hollystar also nodded. "Very well. You may leave." She flicked her tail toward the entrance.

Rosefur dipped her head, and then walked hastily out of the leader's den. Outside, Toadear and Bumblepelt were waiting. Toadear and Bumblepelt had their eyes narrowed, as if they were amused. Rosefur noticed another emotion in Bumblepelt's eyes, strong but yet so hidden that Rosefur couldn't tell what it was.

Toadear's amused mew interrupted her thoughts. "Got caught snooping, eh?"

Bumblepelt swatted a paw at Rosefur's ear. "I'm surprised she didn't have your tail!"

Rosefur ducked away from Bumblepelt. "Don't remind me." Suddenly, Rosefur got an idea. Not only would it please her leader, but, to Rosefur's own surprise, it would comfort her, too. "Toadear, Bumblepelt, how about a hunting patrol together?"

Toadear shook his head. "I have to go on a border patrol soon. You and Bumblepelt can go, though, just the two of you.'

_Just the two of you…_Rosefur excitement heightened. She turned to the black-striped, gray warrior. "Bumblepelt?"

Bumblepelt nodded. "Fine with me." Rosefur was surprised to see the same excitement Rosefur had felt reflected in Bumblepelt's eyes.

"Okay. Let's go." Rosefur and Bumblepelt headed towards the thorn tunnel. She looked back at Toadear, who was watching them go. Was that amusement in his eyes? She turned away, shrugging it off.

As they walked off into the forest, Bumblepelt was eager to start conversation. 'What do you think of the whole situation?" he asked. "You know, with Applepaw?"

As Rosefur turned to look at Bumblepelt, she found herself staring him straight in the eyes. _His eyes are so…so..._ Rosefur could barely stop her tail from shooting straight up in delight.

"I think he should follow whatever path he feels like he belongs to." Rosefur replied finally.

Bumblepelt diverted his gaze directly to Rosefur's eyes. She was startled by the intensity in them. It seemed as if the bright yellow in them was glowing like a firefly. "Do you feel like _you_ are following the path you belong to?" He asked critically.

Rosefur tipped her head to one side in confusion. "Of course. Being a warrior means everything to me."

Bumblepelt sighed and shook his head faintly. "That came out wrong." He took a deep breath. "What I meant to say was—"

He froze in midsentence as they heard a blood-curdling screech coming from the deeper parts of territory. The two cats exchanged a fearful look, wondering what was happening inside their borders. Another screech hit Rosefur's ears, along with a snarl, and then another yowl.

Not wasting a second, Rosefur and Bumblepelt tore off in the direction of the noise. Rosefur was running so fast she felt as if she had wings, and Bumblepelt matched her pace. Suddenly a scent hit Rosefur's nose, followed by a flurry of white fur. Rosefur recognized Lillypaw, one of Icestorm's kits.

"Ambush! Ambush!" She cried, her voice high-pitched with fear. Rosefur's pelt seared with a mixture of astonishment and fear as she realized that Lillypaw was heading towards the camp.

Fear sent a jolt of speed to her paws, and Bumblepelt was no slower. Finally, the two cats skidded to a horrified halt. Rosefur's heart stopped. Bumblepelt gave an alarmed hiss.

Shortpaw, Toadear, Briarclaw, Patchpaw, and Lillypaw's sister, Butterflypaw, were all fighting off WindClan warriors.

Fury came over Rosefur. _We didn't do anything to provoke this! _With a fearsome caterwaul, Rosefur jumped on a Sunclaw, a golden-brown WindClan warrior. The tom hissed ferociously and slammed a bulky paw on the side for Rosefur's head. For a moment, she saw stars. Then she regained her senses, and bit the base of Sunclaw's tail, sending him screeching away.

Rosefur, now in the middle of a writhing mass of fighting cats, automatically looked for Bumblepelt. He was wrestling with a large, brown tom, who looked like he was exhausted. _He doesn't need any help._ Rosefur figured.

But, just as she was about to turn away, she saw Breezetail pounce on Bumblepelt from behind. Anger surging her paws forward, Rosefur leaped on Breezetail, clawing bits of black fur into the air.

"Call yourself a warrior?" Rosefur spat savagely at Breezetail. He let out an angry hiss and bit Rosefur's ear with all his might. She yowled in agony and swiped a claw at Breezetail's eye. Spitting, Breezetail ran out of sight from Rosefur, probably over the WindClan border. She caught a glimpse of the large, brown tom fleeing as well.

Bumblepelt looked at Rosefur, his eyes thick with gratitude. "Thank you, I—"

A yowl ripped through the sounds of battle. It sounded mournful and furious in the same tone, making her stomach drop in fear. _Have one of our warriors been killed?_

She pushed past her brother, who was staring in disbelief, to find out what happened. Rosefur saw a cream-colored body, smelling of WindClan in the center of the gathering cats. Her blood went turned to ice when she saw the blood covering the small cat's pelt. It was obviously an apprentice. Rosefur couldn't see it breathing either.

The small cat was dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The leader of the WindClan patrol stepped forward. Rosefur recognized Crowfeather, a senior warrior and the deputy of WindClan. He bared his teeth at the ThunderClan cats, his tail lashing.

"Well, what do we have here? ThunderClan have stooped so low as to killing off apprentices, fresh from the nursery at that!" He spat every word out furiously, his eyes like two blue flames. Rosefur couldn't suppress a shudder. She had never seen a cat so angry.

When none of the ThunderClan cats replied, Crowfeather went on, flexing his claws on the dirt floor. "This has gone far beyond a border fight. This," He paused, letting the words sink in. "is _war. _War, you hear me? We will drive ThunderClan out of the forest, and we won't stop until we have succeeded!" He hissed.

Rosefur could do nothing but stare like a startled mouse. _War? Are we prepared for war? What if there is a patrol headed for our camp at this very moment?_ As her thoughts raced, she felt Bumblepelt's tail being laid on her shoulder. She looked at him with round green eyes. Bumblepelt licked her head as a calming gesture.

"Don't worry, we won't let that fox-hearted excuse for a warrior defeat us." He mewed in her ear. Rosefur's heart just about melted away. Her ears burned with embarrassment. Then, she shook her head to clear the mushy thoughts from her head. _Not now, mousebrain!_

Then, Briarclaw spoke up. "If it is war you want, then it's a war you'll get!" She growled. The brown deputy raised a paw and extended her claws. "ThunderClan will be ready." She waved her tail passively. "Let's go. We need to report this to Hollystar."

As the ThunderClan patrol walked off, Rosefur was stupefied with shock. _Can WindClan really just declare war like that?_

Then her stomach dropped as she remembered the dead apprentice laying the middle of the battle, its pelt stained scarlet with blood. _Yes they can._ If it was Lillypaw who was killed, Rosefur knew Briarclaw would have done the exact same thing.

Rosefur looked at Bumblepelt. He was staring ahead with troubled yellow eyes. She felt a pang of sympathy for her clan, not just Bumblepelt. They were probably as shocked as she was, if not more.

Suddenly, a cat yowled. Afraid that WindClan had followed them, Rosefur whipped around to the source of the noise. Surprisingly, she found herself looking at her brother. Toadear's eyes were pools of guilt and sorrow, and he was tearing up the ground with his claws. "It's all my fault! I'm the reason WindClan declared war on us! I wasn't trying to kill Creampaw, I just…I just…" He let out another sorrowful caterwaul and then took off towards the ThunderClan camp.

"Toadear!" Rosefur cried. Without putting any thought into it, and without any care that her clanmates might not like it, she took off after her brother, knowing Toadear would put it upon himself to do whatever punishment he thought he should unto on himself. She heard Bumblepelt call her name, but she paid no mind and kept racing after Toadear.

The loud pattering of paws told her the patrol was following her. She didn't care. She just ran until she saw the entrance of her camp. She slowed her pace slightly, and when she entered the camp, she saw Toadear in the center of the clearing, yowling like a lost kit.

Rosefur did not hesitate to approach her brother. She entwined her tail with his, trying to calm him "Toadear, it wasn't your fault! I'm sure it was an accident." Toadear was unresponsive, and he was gasping for breath, as if he suddenly realized how much energy was lost in his desperate flee to the camp.

"Toadear!" She heard a gasp from the warriors den. A few moments later, Blossomflower barged past Foxcatcher, who mewed angrily in indignitation, to run to her mate's side. She began licking him furiously on the head. "Toadear! Are you alright?" She mewed between licks. She froze suddenly, and then whipped her head around at Rosefur. "What happened?" Blossomflower demanded.

Rosefur shook her head woefully. "I'm not quite sure myself All I—"

She was interrupted as the rest of the patrol crashed through the entrance. Every cat turned to look, ears pricked. Bumblepelt burst out of the circle of cats, and ran up to Rosefur. "What happened? Is Toadear okay?" He was panting heavily from the run back to camp.

Ignoring Blossomflower's hiss of annoyance at being interrupted, Rosefur sighed. "He thinks that it's his fault that WindClan declared war on us." She looked down dejectedly. "He won't even listen to me."

He stared in bewilderment for a heartbeat, but then his gaze softened and he pressed his cheek to hers. "I'm sorry."

Rosefur's breath was taken away. She rubbed her cheek softly against his in gratitude. Bumblepelt purred softly in happiness. She purred back. Rosefur thought this moment couldn't get any better As she looked up, though, she saw Hazeltail, who was a warrior before she was even born, glare at her angrily through narrowed eyes. Shock numbed Rosefur's paws. _What did I do?_

"ThunderClan, come here beneath the Highledge at _once!_" She heard Hollystar yowl. Rosefur reluctantly broke apart from Bumblepelt. His gaze locked with hers for a second, then he looked at the ground. "The rest of the patrol must have told Hollystar what happened."

Confused and unhappy, but determined not to show it, Rosefur nodded briskly. "Let's go." She cast one more glance at her brother. He was padding, head down, towards the Highledge with his tail entwined with Blossomflower. Rosefur walked beside Bumblepelt.

The rest of the Clan was beneath the Highledge in a matter of a few moments. Most of them were muttering worriedly, waiting for Hollystar to explain what the commotion was about. Rosefur sat down, and Bumblepelt seated himself nest to her. As Rosefur looked around at her clan, she spotted Hazeltail seated next to her brothers, Mousewhisker and Berrynose, Hazeltail noticed, and her eyes narrowed. Rosefur narrowed her eyes back and turned her head pointedly away. She heard Hazeltail hiss.

Once Hollystar saw that everyone was assembled, she didn't hesitate to start talking. "WindClan have declared war!" She yowled. Hollystar waited until the shocked and angry caterwauls died down before she spoke again. "Our patrol found them on _our_ side of the border, so we attacked. According to our patrol, a member of it killed a WindClan apprentice."

A horrified silence spread out over the ThunderClan cats. It was broken only by a dejected whimper from Toadear.

Hollystar looked around at her Clan. "Well?" She growled. "Whoever killed the apprentice, speak up!"

More uncomfortable silence. Then she heard trembling, quiet mew. "It was me."

Everyone swerved their head to look at the speaker, a quaking, dejected Toadear. Toadear bowed his head and whimpered, only to be comforted by Blossomflower licking his ear quietly and glaring at anyone who showed hostility to him.

Hollystar seemed to pick up on Toadear's uncomfortability, and softened her voice considerably. "Toadear…" She looked at him thoughtfully for a minute. "Please tell us what happened."


End file.
